Commentary: The hubris of Chris Froome’s Giro d’Italia bid

by Caley Fretz

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The preeminent Grand Tour rider of any moment feels invulnerable, unbeatable. Until, quite suddenly, he loses. Chris Froome turns 33 on Stage 15 of the 2018 Giro d’Italia — coincidentally one of the toughest stages of the race. He announced in a video message Wednesday that he will race the Italian tour for the first time since 2010. He wants to win the first Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani, in 1998.

He won’t. And because of this attempt, it’s possible he’ll never win another Tour.

That would be a shame, really. He’s so close to five — to that rarefied air, occupied only by Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, and Indurain. (Another rider won seven Tours, but then he didn’t.) It’s the ultimate legacy, and to give it up for a shot at a less-prestigious prize, well, I don’t understand it.

Greed or hubris. It must be one of the two.

There are rumors — reports, even — of a 2 million euro start fee that would land with a soft thud in Froome’s already-full bank account. But would a man who already has millions risk a five-Tour win legacy for two million more? There’s greed. Perhaps Froome wants to win four Grand Tours in a row (Tour, Vuelta, Giro, Tour). Maybe he fancies himself a modern day Pantani, and wants to match Il Pirata’s Giro-Tour double of 1998 — a feat accomplished during what is believed (hoped) to have taken place during a different, darker era.